DEI Committee (new) | European Association of Geochemistry

Susan Little

University College London, UK

EAG Councillor & Co-Chair of the DEI Committee

As co-chair of the EAG Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, my goal is to help the society accelerate its efforts to improve the representation of diverse groups within the geochemical community. Like many geochemists, the EAG has played an important role in my scientific and personal development, particularly via the Goldschmidt conference. At Goldschmidt, all the great strengths of the geochemical community are on display: ground-breaking science, active social and professional networking, mentoring of the next generation. It’s also at Goldschmidt that some areas of improvement have been laid bare: a lack of diversity in presenters, for example, or in award winners. I am very conscious of my own privilege, which includes attending Goldschmidt on many occasions. I look forward to working with the talented team members on the EAG DEI committee to enable improved access to the discipline of geochemistry, worldwide.

Link to Susan's webpage

Pallavi Anand

Open University, UK

I arrived in the UK, leaving my home country for the first time, to do a PhD. It was a culture and climate shock but also pretty exciting times to be studying at a diverse University town (almost felt like living in a bubble). My second move, in yet another foreign land, when I experienced what it feels like to be an immigrant. However, my passion for science and providing opportunities to the next generation have helped me keep going, particularly when I am undervalued. I have come this far by taking opportunities and persevering with overcoming barriers. I have learned a lot from my wide educational experiences in life: I have attended a small village school in India where I had to bring my own sack for sitting as well as having been at a University where someone came to clean my room and make my bed! With these diverse set of life experiences, I hope to connect with people and contribute to EAG’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.

Link to Pallavi's webpage

Pieter Bots

University of Strathclyde, UK

I am a gender non-conforming/queer gay geochemist and environmental mineralogist, originally from the Netherlands, but since 2008 based in the UK and since 2016 in Scotland. Throughout my career at multiple institutes I have been involved in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committees. Also, at these institutes I have always been open about being gay, and subsequently I have experienced (and noticed) the best and the worst in dealing with (and rewarding) diverse staff and students. I found it specifically unsettling that some of the worst behaviour has come from senior academics who “shout” about their activities to increase diversity within academia. This has ranged from proposing only male academics for advisory boards, to telling (me) to just hide being gay and gender non-conforming when visiting the UAE. Since, by being open about my struggles to others, I have also become much more aware of the disadvantages experienced by other minoritised communities. Because of my own experiences and the stories others have told me, I have become more invigorated to actually achieve meaningful and lasting change within academia (and the geosciences specifically), not just with respect to sexuality and gender identity, but also as an (active) ally to ethic/racial minorities. I hope by being an active member of the EAG-DEI-WG I can help to achieve this goal.

Link to Pieter's webpage

Sri Budhi Utami

University of Liege, Belgium

I am an adult Third Culture Kid (aTCK), which means I spend most of my life living in countries outside of my own passport country, Indonesia. Having lived in different cultures, I was exposed to different perspectives that have taught me valuable lessons and enriched my life. I have also experienced how inequities within the Earth Sciences communities affect women, minority, and international scientists. I believe together we can work towards making geochemistry a more welcoming and equitable field.

Link to Sri's webpage

Ernest Chi Fru

Cardiff University, UK

Ernest was born in Cameroon. He obtained a PhD in Geomicrobiology from Gothenburg University, Sweden. Ernest was a Marie Curie fellow and a recipient of an ERC starting grant from the European Research Council. Studying and working in 8 academic institutions spread across Africa, Europe and North America, has exposed Ernest to diverse cultures and societies. He currently is a senior lecturer at the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Cardiff University, where he is the director of Postgraduate Research Studies. Being a first generation immigrant has afforded Ernest a unique perspective into life and living in an all-black society and the challenges of being a minority person in a western setting. He notes that discrimination exists in all societies. In Africa, tribalism and linguistic, sexual orientation and gender discrimination are rife. In western societies, chronic and systemic racism and religious discrimination are the most prominent, while gender and sexual orientation bias remain a major problem. Ernest’s experience with discrimination contextualised to these different societies and cultures is a major force for joining the EAG-DEI Committee. He seeks to lift up the voices of minority people at the fringes of society by focusing light on the biases that hinder exploration of their ingenuity, talent and potential to contribute towards humanity’s collective progress.

Link to Ernest's webpage

Jabrane Labidi

Université de Paris, IPGP, CNRS, France

As the son of immigrants in France, I have experienced first-hand the challenges of establishing a new life in an unfamiliar culture and as a somewhat visible minority. My parents were not given the opportunities that I received. Particularly my mother experienced unfair treatment due to the specific intersection of her ethnicity and gender, an Algerian woman in France. I owe my academic achievement to those who saw through my differences and provided the extra help required for me to succeed. However, the field of Earth Science is arguably the most gated of all STEMs. Other STEM fields are not even particularly inclusive. As a North African man, my activism for justice comes from a place of solidarity with my black and brown peers. In light of recent and not-so-recent events, particularly targeting our black peers in and out of academia, I take my contribution to the EAG’s DEI Committee as a chance to do the work to ensure our exploitative model in academia is curbed by the inclusion of diverse communities. My activism also focuses on indigenous people robbed of not only their land and self-determination, but also of their voice in academic circles. I am proud to coordinate community activities and provoke accelerated change with my peers within the EAG DEI Committee.

Link to Jabrane's webpage

Johanna Marin Carbonne

Université de Lausanne (UNIL), Switzerland

I am an assistant professor in geochemistry, and my parents were teachers in a small town of Brittany in France. I am well aware of my luck and privileges to be a highly educated woman. Anyway, along the path, I have witnessed and sometimes been the victim of discrimination and harassment behaviours. I have learned a lot from these various experiences but I don’t want to be silent anymore and I want to be a part of the current change to deeply transform STEM and Geochemistry to be a more diverse and inclusive field. Working in collaborative ways with diverse scientists is not only important for Science at large, but is also important to me personally. We learn so much from each other. I hope that we can build a more inclusive and welcoming community where we don’t have to erase or hide who we are as geochemists. “Alone we go faster but together we go further”.

Link to Johanna's webpage

Elena Maters

University of Cambridge, UK

I am a first-generation scientist of mixed heritage and citizenship and feel incredibly privileged to have lived in various countries, including for study and work over the last ten years. Nevertheless, there have been occasions when I was strongly reminded that I was an ‘outsider’ in language, culture or appearance, which at times in Belgium and France reverberated into my confidence and comfort in continuing to pursue research abroad. Luckily, having English as a native language often made it easier for me to build a support network and open doors to new opportunities, but I have seen hard-working peers from different backgrounds who have not been so fortunate. While change in the wider world might take time, through the EAG-DEI Committee I strive to eliminate barriers to anyone feeling a welcomed part of the geoscience community, pushing for greater equity and inclusion so that we all can be free to successfully follow and share our passion for our subjects.

Link to Elena's webpage

Mary Immaculate Neh Fru

University of Buea, Cameroon

I love geosciences and I am so passionate about bringing more women into geosciences. I advocate for breaking the bias and allowing everyone to have equal opportunities. An inclusive science for all nations.

Olivier Pourret

Université of LaSalle, France

I am associate professor of geochemistry. My research interests include trace metal fractionation and particularly Rare Earth Elements and cobalt in low-temperature aqueous systems, from rock to water, soil and vegetation (i.e. the Critical Zone).

I advocate for Open Science, just Science done right, and get involved in various DEI initiatives, especially fighting against disability's discrimination since one of my son have a rare genetic disease. I am proud to join the EAG DEI working group.

Link to Olivier's webpage

Jonatan Romero Matos

Universidad de Huelva, Spain

Geologist and geosciences enthusiast.

I’ve recently jumped into my predoc studies in environmental geochemistry and mineralogy, based on acid mine drainage pollution of the historically mined Iberian Pyrite Belt, located in the southwest of Spain. My purpose in the DEI committee is trying to bring fresh ideas from the perspective of someone relatively new to academia and at the same time be trained in diversity, equity and inclusion issues.

I have the privilege of participating and collaborating in a research group with a very pleasant working environment for everyone involved. I would like to bring this feeling to other members of diverse research groups, where ethnic, genre and social barriers don’t confront each other, making the workplace a safe place for everyone.

Elias Samankassou

University of Geneva, Switzerland

My engagement in the DEI Committee aims at one thing: making this page superfluous. Please help us make this happen soon.

Link to Elias' webpage

Carla Tiraboschi

University of Münster, Germany

I am an experimental petrologist from Italy. Currently, I am based at the University of Münster in Germany, where I have been working since 2018. My research interests include investigating volatile-bearing systems and the mass transfer operated by fluids and melts under high-pressure and high-temperature conditions.

As a white, cisgender woman, I acknowledge the privileges that have helped me throughout my academic journey, including access to free higher education and the opportunity to study in different European countries. However, I am also aware of some of the struggles that women face in academia, such as gender bias and the challenge of balancing family and work responsibilities.

In an effort to contribute to creating a more diverse, equal, and inclusive academic environment, I have joined the DEI committee. I am passionate about promoting these values and confident that my service on the committee can make a positive impact.

Link to Carla's webpage

Yun-Ju (Lorena) Sun

University of Bristol, UK

I am a PhD student from Taiwan studying at the University of Bristol. Being an Asian female studying STEM abroad for the first time in my life, I deeply recognize many of the challenges that not only baffle international students but further undermine the DEI of the community. I have thus been taking action from various aspects to help promote friendly working and living environments, and I am honoured to be included in the EAG-DEI Committee as a student representative. I will take this opportunity to support further the endeavours of raising awareness and cultivating supportive environments and make sure that the voices of historically marginalized groups among the EAG student community are heard.

EAG Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee

Committee Assistants